Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
February 24th - March 1st is Eating Disorder Awareness Week, so I wanted to write this post as a way to raise awareness and share encouragement with you. I know from personal experience how difficult it is to deal with an eating disorder—and to recover from an eating disorder—so I wanted to provide three specific ways that you can help someone who might have an eating disorder.
These people ran away from God. Maybe they’ve even confessed their sins, but their lives will never be the same because of their sinful choices. Every day, you think about their decisions and how their decisions have impacted you. And you wallow in your disappointment and pain. What else can you do?
While it's unwise to dwell on the pain of loneliness (especially because we're not actually alone), it's good to recognize that it's not sinful to feel lonely. Loneliness is simply part of being human. You’re not the only one who feels lonely during this season of singleness. I hope that this poem resonates with you and gives you the strength to press on and keep waiting.
What do we hope to gain by spending countless hours running, walking, weightlifting, and doing other exercises? What are we trying to achieve by sweating persistently, feeling utterly exhausted, and even permanently injuring our bodies? Are we truly trying to be healthy, (as we claim)? Or are our motives a bit messier than that?
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am Grace in this story. However, unlike my name, I'm often lacking in grace for myself and for others.
But believers are not going to grow in their faith by talking about the weather, sports, or politics. On the contrary, believers are going to grow in their faith by sharing their current addictions, temptations, and sins. I believe there are three main reasons why we should be transparent about our struggles.
I wouldn’t say that I've “arrived.” I don’t have thousands of blog followers—not even close. I haven’t been published on lots of “big” Christian websites like Christianity Today or Desiring God. I don’t have a book proposal ready (or even started, ahem). But I’m here—and "here" is a good place to be because this is where God has brought me. He's the One who helped me say “yes” to this journey.
Sometimes, I just want to walk up to him and ask him the question. I mean, what would he say? I’d love to know how he’d answer if I asked him, "So why don't you like me?"
Honestly, I’m tired of the lectures about not meeting my goals last year. And I’m tired of the lectures about meeting my goals in the upcoming year. Of course, I strongly encourage you to grow in Christ and always be intentional about deepening your faith. But sometimes, I struggle with being told how to live by fallible human beings.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 